ymes of 



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Rhymes of Friendship 



BY 



GUY R. HALL 



ILLUSTRATED BY E. B. DAVIS 



1907 



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Nicholson Printing & Mfg. Compan 
Richmond, Indiana 






lie«~A«YofCOP«RESS 
Two iottes Recdved 

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CoQynrW intry 

CLAS$4 KXCm No. 
COPY B. 



Copyright, 1907, by Guy R. Hall. 



• •• 
• • • 



^ 

^ 



1^?^ 






^- 



TO MY PARENTS, 

TO WHOM I AM FIRST AND MOST GREATLY INDEBTED, 
I DEDICATE THIS BOOK. 



TABLE OF CONTENTS 



PAGE 



Lines _--_---- ^ 

Song of Trust - - - - - - -lo 

Memorial Stanzas - - - - - - 12 

Stanzas to Our Smiling Girl - - - -15 

To Maree 18 

To Daisy - - - - - - - -21 

To Marion ------- 23 

To Lillian -------24 

The Pearl ------- 29 

A Portrait of Memory - - - - - ^i 

Altha Grain ------- 34 

Lines - - - - - - - "37 

*^ There is Time" - 38 

Sleep ...-----^o 

Lux ET Veritas - - - - - - 41 

Strains of Passion _-._-- 42 

DOGGEREL AND DIALECT 
In Haymakin' -----.-45 

March Blues ------- 49 

*'Santy Claus " Talk - - - - - 52 



6 TABLE OF CONTENTS 

PAGE 

UpOx\ Receiving Hints of Christmas - - 56 

nonsensicals - - - - - - "59 

Epitaph .--_--. 60 

Jim Lowden's Epitaph - - - - - 61 

Lines -------- 62 

Jack Strimpler's Wife ----- 63 

Dream of the Professor of Science - - - 68 

To AN Old School-Mate - - - - - 72 

Uncle's Old Sayin' - - . _ _ 7^ 

To Hero Ichenomeya ------ 78 

A Happy Meeting 81 

Pa's Fourth -------84 

The Honest Pride of a Country Lad - - 89 

**Jim" AND ** Jake" 93 



e-S 



PREFACE 

IN COMPILING and publishing this Httle collection 
of verse, my distinct aim has been to give my 
friends the best fruits of my literary efforts. My in- 
tention is not to experiment with the good will of the 
public in order to discern what pecuniary profit I can 
derive from the work. I cannot hope for greater re- 
muneration than a continuation of such kind words 
and encouraging compliments as I have already re- 
ceived. Like the wayside singer, unheeded by a 
majority of the common multitude, I sing for such as 
will pause to listen ; not only those whose gifted hands 
"can touch the magic string,'' but the voiceless poets 
also, to whose natural sense of the beautiful the ring 
of poetry gives delightful response. 

Thankful for the reassurance of friends I sub- 
mit this brief volume to the public to be received and 
reacted upon, not as a work of exceptional merit, but 
as a gift in token of my appreciation of their manv 
favors. Very sincerely, 

GUY R. HALL. 



RHYiMES OF FRIENDSHIP 



B 



LINES 

(To a fair co-ed of other days.) 

Y SYLVAN streams, through flow'ry mead, 

Doth friendship's fancy rove, 
Their blossoms hold the sacred creed 

That tells of perfect love; 
But sweet as is the richest smell 

When fragrance flows most free, 
The honied draught cannot excel 

The smiles thou gavest me. 



10 RHYMES OF FRIENDSHIP 



SONG OF TRUST 
I. 

^RISE, my soul, and cast aside 
-^^^ This dark disguise of grief, 
And bid the sorrows that betide 
Thee henceforward be brief; 
Loath not to bear thy cross of care, 

Nor condescend to pine. 
But be thine ever-constant prayer : 
^^Not my will. Lord, but Thine !'' 

11. 

Though darkest shades pervade the gloom 

And compass thee about, 
A joy may still within thee bloom. 

When all is dark without; 
Though life may seem forlorn and sad 

Along this dreary way, 
Beyond the mists the air is glad 

With many a brightening ray. 



RHYMES OF FRIENDSHIP 11 



III. 



Rejoice, nor let thy faith in Him 

Grow weak in hours of pain, 
Let not the keeper's eyes wax dim 

Nor love's warm ardor wane; 
With humble purpose bravely spurn 

The gifts of worldly lust. 
To Him thy little all return 

In prayers of loving trust. 



IV. 



O pine not, though exceeding sore 

Thy light afflictions be. 
Thy Jesus all our sorrows bore 

On cruel Golgotha's tree; 
He will his erring child attend 

In mercy all-divine. 
Then let thy prayer today ascend: 

''Not my will, Lord, but Thine V 



12 RHYMES OF FRIENDSHIP 



MEMORIAL STANZAS 

(Read at the Hall family reunion, August i8, igo6.) 

I. 

STILL softly murmuring o'er the mound 
Where honor's humble toilers sleep, 
The west wind wails a doleful sound 

And seems with muffled voice to weep ; 
Morn bathes with dew her grassy stems, 
And fragrance steeps the atmosphere. 
The sod is strewn with glistening gems 
Where parted love first shed its tear. 

11. 

The hands that delved, the hearts that yearned, 

The feet that trod th' unbroken way, 
The patient face, the hair that turned 

From morn's gay hues to twilight's gray, — 
When fortune's glittering tinsels wane, 

And wasted splendors pass forgot. 
Their righteous works shall live and reign 

With truths that wake to perish not. 



RHYMES OF FRIENDSHIP 13 



III. 



Yon greensward holds the withered buds, 

Whose unblown blossoms ne'er embossed 
Life's path with summer's flowery floods 

Ere early fell the autumn's frost; 
Full tender was the last caress, 

And gracious were the tears that fell 
To fondly lave each treasured tress, 

The unction of love's last farewell. 



IV. 



Not in the churchyard's solitude 

Does memory's fancy yearn to rove, 
She loiters through the verdant wood 

Where life abounds with joy and love; 
Yet dear ones' faces, radiant, fair, 

Through memory's wakeful visions sweep. 
We start to see the vacant chair. 

And grief returning needs must weep. 



14 RHYMES OF FRIENDSHIP 



V. 



They lived in love, they passed in peace, 

With eyes of faith they saw afar 
The goal where earthly labors cease, 

And following hope's celestial star, 
They broke the bonds of fleshly fears 

And passed from darkness into day, 
Where all of sorrow's galling tears 

Their God himself shall wipe away ! 




RHYMES OF FRIENDSHIP 16 



STANZAS TO OUR SMILING GIRL 



o 



LET the pure sweet lily bloom 

With exhalations rare 
To wilt above the silent tomb 

As memories languish there ; — 
While listless fancies hourly troop 

Where gathered friends of yore, 
Let still the mournful grasses droop 

To kiss the cold sods o'er. 



II. 

And let the ruddy roses blush 

Where hearts beat light and free, 
Where gay cantatas wildly gush 

From childish throats of glee; 
And grant to taintless innocence 

Its wonted raptures still. 
Nor seek from its convivial sense 

To blight the quickening thrill. 



16 RHYMES OF FRIENDSHIP 



III. 



Yet for the winter's piercing cold 

The Hly naught avails, 
The rose no splendor can unfold 

To warm the blasting gales ; 
Must still the starless night seem long, 

No solace to impart, 
No ray, no smile, nor strain of song, 

To glad withal the heart? 



IV. 



No! For the eyes that look through tears 

Of sorrow all the while 
Our lady's lovely face appears, 

Whose sweet and queenly smile, 
Whose queenly smile, so pure and calm. 

Can visions drear dispel, 
Suggesting e'er the hopeful psalm: 

'Teace reigneth, all is well.'' 



RHYMES OF FRIENDSHIP 17 



'Teace reigneth," — O triumphant thought, 

Blest comforter thou art! 
Most beauteous truth, by tongue untaught, 

Her smiles can best impart; 
Where'er her peaceful path may lead. 

Through sunshine or through shade, 
Be each pure smile and kindly deed 

By Heaven's own love repaid. 




18 RHYMES OF FRIENDSHIP 



TO MAREE 

(i2 years old.) 
I. 

WHAT pencil touches can portray 
The beauty of a Hfe as gay 

And peaceful as thine own? 
What blossoms with thy smiles compare? — 
What roses by the balmy air 
Of parting April blown? 



11. 



Supreme thy pleasures are, Maree, — 
O would that thus they e'er should be, 

And that thou should'st not know 
The wounds that years can never heal, 
The cankering griefs too many feel, — 

The bitter cup of woe ! 



RHYMES OF FRIENDSHIP 19 



III. 

O youthful eyes ! we see in them 
The luster of love's diadem, 

Kindness, serene and pure ! 
And may it be that they shall yield 
A fuller sympathy and wield 

A power strong and sure ! 

IV. 

Merrily chimes thy voice, Maree, 

And rings your laugh with wholesome glee, 

Thou seemest unaware 
That thou a mortal creature art. 
Destined to many a pain of heart. 
Perplexity and care. 

V. 

Yet cheerful be, for it is well 

That sorrow should not break the spell 

Of joy so innocent, 
And may you freely still partake 
Of all the pleasures that can make 

You even more content. 



20 RHYMES OF FRIENDSHIP 



VI. 

This cannot be for aye, Maree, 
The girl will make the woman, she 

Must bid farewell to youth. 
But life which gives to fortune range 
Has that for thee which cannot change, — 

The Everlasting Truth. 

VII. 

And to this treasure ever cleave 
With heart submissive to receive 

The good it hath for thee, 
And while through time you do your best 
Just trust to Heaven's care the rest 

And all is well, Maree ! 



RHYMES OF FRIENDSHIP 21 



I 



TO DAISY 



WALKED the headland green, profuse 
With flowers rare, whose mingled hues 
Gleamed through the sheen of morning dews 

In red and blue and yellow; 
How could I turn to go away 
From such a company so gay 
And pluck me not a sweet bouquet 

With richest hues and mellow? 



II. 

Beneath mine eyes that summer morn 
Laughed a white rose, should it be worn? 

dear ! it pricked me with its thorn 

And I was pained most crazy; 

1 turned me to the violet blue, — 
''Sweet, modest flower, thou art true,'' — 
But on me smiled with livelier hue, 

Not far apart, — a daisy. 



22 RHYMES OF FRIENDSHIP 



III. 

''Ah, daisy! thou my heart hast won, 
ril steal thee from the shining sun;" 
I plucked its stem, the deed was done, 

And pressed it to my bosom; 
O better Daisy, thou, to whom 
My lines compare this lovely bloom. 
With richer nectar and perfume 

In love's sweet thoughts shalt blossom ! 



egs 



RHYMES OF FRIENDSHIP 23 



O 



TO MARION 
I. 
FT have we felt since you have gone 
How shone your smiles, O Marion! 
Your hour's brief call scarce heeded here 
Has left to us a hallowed cheer. 

11. 
We knew you, loved you but somehow 
We ne'er have felt before as now 
The true worth of your nature sweet. 
To rank with all the loveliest meet. 

III. 
Let love continue and where'er 
Some sorrowing brother sighs despair, 
Lest he all higher aims should yield 
Smile still to strengthen, save and shield. 

IV. 
And gentle, loving spirit, we 
Shall keep one sacred memory: — 
The fair and smiling face of thine 
That gave its fullest light to shine. 



24 RHYMES OF FRIENDSHIP 



M 



TO LILLIAN 
I. 

EET it seemeth, Dear, that we 
Should thy virtues envy thee, 
We, who deeds of love admire 
And from day to day aspire 
To attain that tranquil mind, 

To which thou 

At length, somehow 
Hast not vainly been inclined. 

II. 

There are those whose formal creeds 
Hamper so their daily deeds 
That they cease not night nor da}' 
To beseech and weep and pray 
For some sparing providence 

In behalf 

Of those who laugh 
In youth's happy innocence. 



RHYMES OF FRIENDSHIP 25 



III. 



Thy serene and smiling look 
Stronger is than stern rebuke 
To such boastful scorners, these 
Pessimistic Pharisees; 
Thou hast grace to still bestow 

Gentleness 

In deeds that bless 
Hearts that feel thy overflow. 



IV. 



And if thou shouldst deign to sigh 
When the tides of doubt rage high, 
Should thy spirit's feeble plaint 
Murmur through the tumult, faint,- 
Should we think this grief of thine 

Nursed within 

Thy heart is sin, 
That thou shouldst a moment pine? 



26 RHYMES OF FRIENDSHIP 



V. 



In my fancy I can see 
Him who groaned on Calvary, 
Overwhelmed by all the blame 
Of our vices and their shame,- 
How in agony he sighed, 

Suffering, 

Though Heaven's King 
By Earth's children crucified. 



VI. 

Thou art human, better be. 
For it best becometh thee; 
Imperfection hath a charm 
When the sympathies are warm; 
'Tis a blessing cast away 
When we shun 
The thought of fun, — 
There's a season to be gay. 



RHYMES OF FRIENDSHIP 27 



VII. 

Lavish be thy cheerful words 
Like the mingled chants of birds; 
What were this existence worth 
Had it not that fount of mirth 
Springing up with healing powers, 

Timely ere 

Our hearts despair, 
Pining through the lonely hours. 



VIII. 

Thou thy pretty whims must act. 
Fancy, too, must fashion fact; 
There be none with true desires 
But thy daily course admires ; 
Self-directed thou dost ply 

Work and play 

With gentle sway 
As the light-winged hours sweep by. 



28 RHYMES OF FRIENDSHIP 



IX. 



Who is he that ever said 
Thou art vainly proud, Dear Maid? 
Hath he ne'er discerned that pride 
Cometh from the heart inside? 
Thou dost scatter welcome cheer 

To the few, 

And many, too, 
And thou art to many dear ! 



X. 



Heaven be gracious unto thee, 
Lillian, with a mind as free 
From all dread of worldly cares 
As the pure and gentle airs. 
That with soothing softness waft 

Kisses where 

The earth is bare 
Or where nodding daisies laugh! 



RHYMES OF FRIENDSHIP 29 



O 



THE PEARL 
L 

PRICELESS pearl, Old Ocean's choicest gem! 
Hallowed thy crystal glory, spotless white ; 
Born with unnumbered beauties, diadem 
Washed from the deep of night. 



II. 



Thou'rt as the lowly in heart, methinks, and meek, 
Lovely and beloved thou dost remain 

To teach sweet patience to the faltering weak 
Engrossed with care and pain. 



III. 



To loathsome malice and to lust unknown. 
Jewel of the dreaming artist's first desire, 

Whose modest purity hath long outshone 
Ruby and bold sapphire. 



30 RHYMES OF FRIENDSHIP 



IV. 



E'en at thy passive, silent attitude 

We are constrained to linger 'neath a spell, 

With solemn wonder and with awe imbued, 
No language art can tell. 



The ever-restless rover of the seas 

Hears through the roaring main thy softer song,- 
And fondly drinks of the honeyed melodies 

Caught from thy fairy tongue. 



VI. 



Ah, — fancy a living heart so nobly pure, 
A face of smiling radiance, with rich curls 

In beauteous ecstasy embroidering o'er, — 
Queen of the realm of Pearls ! 



RHYMES OF FRIENDSHIP 31 



A PORTRAIT OF MEMORY. 



THERE once did glow a modest pride 
Within her azure eyes, 
So soft a spark that we had Hed 

To harshly criticize, 
And with this gem so twinkling vied 
Its sister star, Surprise. 



II. 



If flattering phrase I ventured e'er 
That glance grew sweetly bold. 

Then flitting o'er a brow more fair 
Than Aphrodite of old. 

Surprise would strew strange shadows there 
Beneath the curls of gold. 



32 RHYMES OF FRIENDSHIP 



III. 

What, though, perchance a Httle vain? 

O could these eyes of mine 
Reflect the beauty back again 

That streamed on them from thine, — 
I too might be a Httle vain 

Such charm and rapture mine! 

IV. 

But whence Surprise ? I knew not whence 
That half-blown blush might be, 

That silent gaze which often since 
In dreams has fall'n on me 

So kindly yet so doubting, hence 
So deeply mystery. 

V. 

Upon some far Elysian heath 

Where fragrances so rare 
Through endless years sweet roses breathe 

To changeless Morning's air. 
Shall she above this realm of Death 

Abide my coming there? 



RHYMES OF FRIENDSHIP 33 



VI. 



Shall these mild, those intenser beams 
That used on earth to glow, 

Alternate still as in my dreams 
Today they come and go. 

Or radiant, joyful, bathed in streams 
'Where heavenly fountains flow? 



VII. 



Still loitering 'neath old shady bowers, 
Which now are still and lone, 

I can but weep to think of hours 
That once were and are gone. 

And stoop to pluck some choicest flowers 
To strew her grave upon ! 



34 RHYMES OF FRIENDSHIP 



ALTHA GRAIN 
I. 

SOME lasses excel in the finery they wear, 
Or the elegant fashion of balling their hair, — 
But, pray, 'mongst a hundred thus handsomely dressed, 
In point of real beauty, which one is the best? 



II. 



The belle of the city may lavishly smear 
The talcum on thick where the blushes appear, 
Her suit may be gaudy and gay in extreme. 
Her laces may rustle, her ribbons may stream. 



III. 



When a lad from the country comes under her eye 
Who wears a cheap hat or a fifteen-cent tie, 
To speak to him, likely she'll ne'er take the pains, 
On account of a difference in costume and brains. 



RHYMES OF FRIENDSHIP 35 



IV. 



But up on North College away from the noise 
And stir of the city, and shouts of the boys, 
Lives Altha, the pride of the fair Httle street 
The first of its damsels, its flower most sweet. 



Like the gay-throated thrush in the tree where she 

swings 
She peeps through the green leaves and whistles and 

sings 
Till all who reside in that little home spot 
Have the last bitter tears of their sorrows forgot. 



VI. 



O today I can hear the gay laugh on her lips 

As down through their little green orchard she trips ! 

Did a man or a woman or child in this town 

Ever see on her brow the mere fringe of a frown ? 



36 RHYMES OF FRIENDSHIP 



VII. 



Miss Altha is happy, and O can it be 

That from heavy temptation her spirit is free? 

Aloof from the level of grief and of pain, 

That she utters no murmur nor seems to complain? 



VIII. 



Ah, sweet is her life and its teaching is more 
To her friends and her schoolmates than ever before; 
'Tis better to sing through our trials than complain. 
Is not this the lesson thou teachest, Miss Grain? 



IX. 



This world is too gloomy, too gloomy by half, 

So whistle and giggle and titter and laugh, 

Let every one join in the merry refrain: 

O its tra-la and ha-ha for thee, ALTHA GRAIN ! 



RHYMES OF FRIENDSHIP 37 



LINES 

(Penned in an autograph album of a lady friend.) 

I. 



H 



ARBOR no malice, let your ways 
Be ways of peace, do what is good; 

And live so that the world will praise 
Your 'worthy type of womanhood. 

11. 

Hold fast to honor, ever cling 

To truth, a pearl of greatest price ; 

Fair lady, touch not anything 

That bears a lingering taint of vice. 

III. 

To pleasure do not sacrifice 

The precepts of your better sense, 

Make love's unerring way your choice. 
And trust the Master's providence. 



38 RHYMES OF FRIENDSHIP 



T 



'THERE IS TIME" 
I. 

HERE is a time to study, 

There is a time to play, 
A time to muse, and also time 

To eat three times a day; 
Plenty of time for smiling, 

Some time to laugh aloud, 
There's time for peaceful solitude, 

And time to join the crowd. 



11. 



There is time to be cheerful. 

But none to cherish scorn. 
We may serious be but never 

Be all hopelessly forelorn ; 
We may dream dreams and see visions 

If we pine not o'er our dreams, 
We may even love intensely 

If we go not to extremes. 



RHYMES OF FRIENDSHIP 39 



III. 



We may taste the cup of kindness 

If we will but pass it on, 
And partake of joys hilarious 

If we keep sweet through the fun; 
We may even joke companions, 

If we don't get hot and cuss 
When the other fellow practices 

As good a joke on us. 



IV. 



O there are years, yes, many years 

Of time to do the right, 
There's time to cherish faltering hearts 

But none their hopes to blight ! 
There may, alas, arrive a time 

To shed regretful tears 
For lack of moderation 

In our mirth of younger years! 



40 RHYMES OF FRIENDSHIP 



SLEEP 

O GENTLE sleep ! that from thy ebon throne 
Descendest to anoint the toiler's eyes 

With healing unction, when the daylight flies 
And all the clamor of the day is flown, 
What sweet communion with thee all alone 

When visions more ethereal arise 

To pacify the restless, broken sighs 
That linger from the evening's weary moan ! 
Sprinkle, mild goddess, some lethean dews 

Upon the fevered forehead sore with care, 
Draw the dark veil, despondency, and lose 

The burdened spirit in the boundless air. 
Where fragrance-laden zephyrs ceaseless fan 
Fresh draughts of courage to the new-born man. 



RHYMES OF FRIENDSHIP 41 



LUX ET VERITAS 

(Published in the 1905 Arbutus of Indiana University.) 

OUR gracious Alma Mater, while thy name 
Is yet the symbol of the good and pure, 

While Light and Truth unsullied still endure 
The radiant heralds of thy deathless fame, — 
O be thy nurturing tenderness the same 

As in thine honored past, still strong and sure ! 

May the same ties that link our loves secure 
Our earnest strife, our every worthy aim; 
Still lead us onward, lovingly direct 

Our path as from thy fond embrace we part, 
And as we leave thy footstool to perfect 

Immortal structures fashioned to thine art, 
O quicken thou not more our intellect 

Than all the grateful passions of our heart! 



42 RHYMES OF FRIENDSHIP 



STRAINS OF PASSION 

HOW can the soul impassioned hold its peace 
When thrilled with nameless joy or stung with 
pain, 
When seized with hatred or with love which fain 
Would stave the heart's stout bars to gain release 
And flood the joyful lips with ecstasies? 
For such inspiring, animating strain 
Can all of passion's raging currents drain 
Till consciousness streams on with wonted ease; 
Then, O my soul, lift up thy voice in song 
And let the burden of thy numbers be 
Sung in the spirit of the major key! — 
Not so, perchance, when thou shalt come among 

Brethren whose woes implore thy sympathy, 
But sing thy plaintive strain with power to solace 
strong. 



DOGGEREL AND DIALECT 



DOGGEREL AND DIALECT 

IN HAYMAKIN' 



WITH the sultry air a-sizzin' — 
Hot, and mornin' breezes laid, 
When the mercury has risen 

To the "ninety in the shade," 
'Bout the time Pap cuts the hay down 

An' he talks o' takin' in, 
I jest feel somehow away down 

In miy breast it ain't no sin 
Jest to saunter, none to aid me, 

To the little grassy mound. 
Where the old, big maple shade tree 

Spreads its shadder on the ground. 



(45) 



46 RHYMES OF FRIENDSHIP 



11. 

Folks are differ'nt in make-up, 

An' I 'low they'll alius be, 
So when they is hay to take up 

There are better hands than me, 
For in timothy and clover 

I have labored till I've felt, 
As I piled the windrows over. 

That I's jest about to melt; 
And I've sort o' doubted whether 

Any feller should or not 
Work at hayin' when the weather 

Is so awful, swelterin' hot ! 

III. 

O the atmosphere is brimmin' 

With the sweetest things that be 
When they's peace amongst the women 

Who delight in pesterin' me ! 
An' when hayin' comes in leap year 

An' yer not a-pitchin' hay. 
Boys, you'd better sort o' keep yer 

Wits about vou all the day; — 



RHYMES OF FRIENDSHIP 47 



Fer this woman question only 
Would a feller's mind be free 

As he muses all so lonely 
Underneath the maple tree. 



IV. 



it's there I like to waller 
Tickled from my heart clean out ! 

But I'm careful not to holler 
Much when Pap is nigh about, 

Fer, w^hen he has cut the hay down 
An' he talks o' takin 'in, — 

1 jest feel somehow away down 
In my mind if I begin 

Makin* too much fuss, — you chet-er, 
Pap'll call me to make hay 

With a voice that I've learnt better 
Than to ever disobey ! 



48 



RHYMES OF FRIENDSHIP 




'Tm careful not to holler 

Much when Pap is nigh about" 



RHYMES OF FRIENDSHIP 49 



MARCH BLUES 



FELLER sort o' gits a spell 
O' blues 'bout this time o' year, 
An' it's purty hard to tell 

When the weather's so severe 
Which is the worse o' the two, — 
Feelin' cold er feelin' blue. 



11. 



Feller keeps hisself housed in. 
Tries to feel good when he cain't, 

All the kinds o' medicine 

He kin take for his complaint 

Never soothe his ills, but jes' 

Make his bank account much less. 



50 RHYMES OF FRIENDSHIP 



III. 

'Bout the time a feller gits 
To believin' spring has come, 

Snowstorm comes along an' spits 
Flurries everywhere, i gum! 

And the piercin' wind jest blows 

Through a feller's winter clo'es. 

IV. 

An' he ain't no pessimist 

'Cause he gits to feelin' blue, 

All the best folks on the list 
Git that sort o' feelin', too, — 

An' it seems to 'em 'at spring 

Keeps a dilly-dallying. 

V. 

Ef a feller jes' concedes 
That his soul is bein' tried, 

An' kin trust that all his needs 
By-um-by will be supplied, — 

Matters not what ills occur, 

He'll pull through much easier. 



RHYMES OF FRIENDSHIP 



51 




Feller keeps hisself housed in' 



52 RHYMES OF FRIENDSHIP 



I 



"SANTY CLAUS" TALK 

I. 

T AINT long till Santy Claus 
Makes his reg'lar visit wiv 
Candies, nuts, and toys to give 
To good little childern, 'cause 
I have noticed ever' year, 

When Thansgivin' dinner's past, 
That the days go mighty fast. 
An' that Christmas time is near, — 
An' when I lay down at night 
Fer to dream in high delight 
'Bout Old Santy, I keep thinkin' 
That I hear his sleigh-bells clinkin'. 



II. 

O the good old Santy Claus, — 

Wonder how he looks? I've heerd 
Mommy say he has long beard 

White as snow all round his jaws, 



RHYMES OF FRIENDSHIP 53 



That his cheeks an' nose are red, — 
An' my mommy telled me, too: 
''Santy on'y comes when you 

Little saps are 'sleep in bed. 

An' he don't fetch nothin' then 

Sich as toys and candy when 
Little saps like you an' Tommy 
Say bad words an' sass their mommy.'* 

III. 

Wonder how old Santy Claus, 
Where he lives away so far. 
Knows who all us childern are ? 

'Spec' he finds out by our pas; 

He knows what we want, yes-sir, 
Santy does, an' alius brings 
Ever' Christmas jes the things 

That the boys are lookin' fer; 

An' it's lots o' fun, you bet, 

Christmas mornin' jes' to get 
Out o' bed an' be a-peepin' 
'Round while all the folks is sleepin' ! 



54 



RHYMES OF FRIENDSHIP 




''****^*i^\ ^^«^^^^^s. ^v,^ ^j^ii'*^* 



"An' it's lots o' fun, you bet, 
Christmas mornin' jes' to get 

Out o' bed an' be a-peepin' 

'Round while all the folks is sleepin'!" 



RHYMES OF FRIENDSHIP 55 



IV. 



They's no man 'cept Santy Claus 
Does the funny things he can, — 
He must be a jolly man, — 
An' he's curious too, because 
He slips in an' leaves our toys. 
Ever' present jes' bran new. 
An' he fills our stockin's, too, 
And skips out wivout no noise; — 
Mommy says 'at he can squeeze 
Hisself up jest like he please. 
So I reckon that Old Santy 
Can get down our chimley, — can't 'e? 




56 RHYMES OF FRIENDSHIP 



UPON RECEIVING HINTS OF CHRISTMAS 

I. 

CHRISTMAS gift!" my dear friends, "Christmas 
gift!" do you say? 
Better wait till that morning when cry it you may; 
"Christmas gift!" now don't chuckle and feel too se- 
cure, 
Not till the glad morn can you get it for sure. 

II. 

"Christmas gift!" do you say, pretty lass, to your 

beau? 
There's a limit to patience, 'twere well you should 

know; 
Perhaps it would spare you some heartrending sighs 
To speak to him kindly and not tantalize. 

III. 

"Christmas gift!" are you saying, young fellow, to 

her? 
If she frowns, youVe a case that is hopeless, yes-sir; 
For what can you hope from a lass who depends 
On her "dear papa's" purse for the money she spends ? 



RHYMES OF FRIENDSHIP 57 



IV. 



"Christmas gift!'' do you say, little girl, little boy? 
Will some candy suffice or a nice little toy? 
Better wait till that morning if you would be wise, — 
Let him shout ''Christmas gift,'' who first opens his 
eyes. 



V. 



''Christmas gift!" to the merchant I bid you to go, 
He'll not frown at your cry, nor rebuke you, O no ! 
I'll vouch for his smile being hardy and hale 
As he shows his abundance all ready for sale. 



VI. 



"Christmas gift !" hear the jingle of dollars and cents, — 
O a feller's fair friends are an awful expense ! 
And I've thought as I lavished my coin with a grin ; — 
Now where shall Ma's "china" I promised come in ? 



58 RHYMES OF FRIENDSHIP 



VII. 



^'Christmas gift!" O the friends that a fellow can spot, 
Many friendships so warm make a fellow half hot; 
Rather shake with my friends once a day through 

the year 
Than love so intensely as Christmas draws near. 



VIII. 



^'Christmas gift!" my dear friends, ''Christmas gift!" 

do you say ? 
Better wait till that morning when cry it you may; 
"Christmas gift!" just be quiet, ere long we shall see 
Who rises and gets it, my friends, you or me. 



v2- 

OJOi^ 

o 



RHYMES OF FRIENDSHIP 59 



W 



NONSENSICALS 

E FIRST did love madly 
But matters went sadly, 
We lost all the joy that we sought; 

This thought to refresh us: 

For aye will be precious 
The truth that so dearly was bought. 



Hers was a name I could not disapprove, 
Hers was a face I could not bear to love : 
Since name and face were hard to separate, 
I could but sigh, ''Dear sweet, we both must wait/' 



May these poor tributes from my heart 
Find welcome in thy hand, my fair. 

And if perchance they should impart 
Some kindred pang or common care, — 

O hear affection's yearning plea, 

And shed a tear of love for me ! 



60 RHYMES OF FRIENDSHIP 




H 



EPITAPH 

ERE lies beneath this emblem shield 
A warrior young, who gave his life 

To 'scape th' abuses of the field 

And the tongue-thrusts of a heartless wife. 




RHYMES OF FRIENDSHIP 61 



J 



JIM LOWDEN'S EPITAPH 

IM LOWDEN, of woman born 
And christened in the year 1810, 
By 1840 wretched and forlorn 
He wifeless walked among his fellowmen ; 

By 1860, he could boast no more, 

But when another score 

Of years had heaped its cares 

Upon his silver hairs, 

It came to pass one day 
A woman crossed his lonely path and they 

Were married, — 

But Jim soon passed away, 
And here beyond his sorrows he lies buried. 

Man who is of woman born 

Is of few days and forlorn; 

Peaceful let his ashes lie, 

Man who doth bv woman die! 



62 RHYMES OF FRIENDSHIP 






LINES 

(Penned hy one who stands up for the institute,) 

O MONSTROUS fad ! the township institute 
Where pedagogues assemble to dispute; — 
Nay, wise tribunal where all ponderous questions 
Are settled at some sweet school-marm's suggestions; 
Thy big assumptions, egotistic boast, 
Both I detest, but love thy pay the most; 
As for all teachers, there's not one of them 
Who'll not assent to have his dear ''per diem." 






RHYMES OF FRIENDSHIP 63 



O 



JACK STRIMPLER'S WIFE 

I. 

NE thing with others I beHeve : 

God first made Adam an' then Eve; 
An' yit some folks is at a loss 
To know which one he meant fer boss. 



11. 



Jack Strimpler an' his wife, these two, 
Live jest across from where we do. 
An' we know who's a-holdin' sway, 
A-livin' neighbors thataway. 



III. 



It's ''Git up, Old Man," ever' morn, 
"An' feed the horses hay an' corn. 
Fetch in a load o' kindlin' then. 
An' treat yer wife like other men !" 



64 RHYMES OF FRIENDSHIP 



IV. 

The stock is fed, the wood is spHt 

An' carried in, the fire is Ht; 

It burns away to ashes most. 

And Strimpler has his bread to toast 

V. 

'Tlease git up, Mother," is his plea, 
''My weedy crop is needin' me ;'' 
Again he urges and again : 
''Do git up. Mother, it's past ten." 

VI. 

I hear a noise in their bed-room. 
Sounds somepin Hke a flyin' broom, 
I hear a woman's angry shriek 
Confuse the words she tries to speak. 

VII. 

'Tis Monday, that is, washin'-day. 
An' Strimpler is compelled to stay 
An' sweat above the washin'-tub 
With all the last week's duds to rub. 



RHYMES OF FRIENDSHIP 



65 




" 'Tis Monday, that is, washin'-day' 



66 RHYMES OF FRIENDSHIP 



VIII. 

Nen in the afternoon he sweeps 

The house through while his woman sleeps, 

He dusts the parlor rugs an' chairs 

An' their new bed-room set upstairs. 

IX. 

An 'ef she has a stove to black, 
It's ''Come, apply the polish. Jack;" 
An 'ef he soils the oil cloth 
The woman gets exceeding wroth. 

X. 

Before he harnesses an' plows 

He has to milk eleven cows, 

An' when he comes to strain the milk, — 

Wy, here's his woman dressed in silk! 

XL 

I've been perplexed enough an' felt 
Some keen tongue-lashes, an' have smelt 
The brimstone, but in face o' fac's 
My trials ain't one-tenth o' Jack's. 



RHYMES OF FRIENDSHIP 67 



XII. 

Some gossips blame the woman, some 
Are prophesyin' worse to come, 
Still others charge she is possessed 
An' wish her husband peace an' rest. 

XIII. 

I wouldn't add one slightest grain 
Of weight to Strimpler's life o' pain, 
I wouldn't whet no butcher-knife 
To wreak revenge aginst his wife. 

XIV. 

But any man 'at's cuffed like Jack, 
Who hain't got sense to turn his back, 
Deserves a woman's broomstick blows 
Right where he gits 'em — on the nose. 



68 RHYMES OF FRIENDSHIP 



DREAM OF THE PROFESSOR OF SCIENCE 

I. 



p 



ROFESSOR stood within his dream 

As in his waking hours, 
When everything around did seem 

Controlled by mystic powers. 



11. 



His cap he ventured to remove, 
When much to his surprise. 

It rose toward the clouds above 
And vanished in the skies. 

III. 

He saw the vivid lightning flash 
In blinding bolts and keen, 

But heard no after thunder crash, 
Nor could a cloud be seen. 



RHYMES OF FRIENDSHIP 



IV. 

He stood beneath a noonday sun, 
His limbs grew numb and chill, 

The streams, he noticed, had begun 
To turn and flow up-hill. 

V. 

He dropped a match in oxygen, 
And lo, out went the flame; 

Experimented once again, — 
Result was still the same. 

VI. 

He gazed with half-wide-open mouth 

O'er the horizon far. 
And saw suspended o'er the South 

Gleam out the Polar Star. 

VII. 

Pale grew his face as if some care 
His learned mind distressed. 

When now he witnessed the Great Bear 
Enthroned above the West. 



70 RHYMES OF FRIENDSHIP 



VIII. 

He saw spring flowers pop their heads 

Above a winter snow, 
And thirty inches from their beds 

He saw the onions grow. 

IX. 

He saw his genial cook and wife 

Get angry at a cat, 
She threw their sharpest butcher-knife 

Which turned into a rat. 

X. 

And now attempting to inhale 

A deep, refreshing breath, 
His intercostals seemed to fail 

To stem approaching death. 

XL 

At length, with a despairing look 
He woke, exclaiming, — 'Tshaw V 

Some say he mildly blamed his cook 
For this strange breach of law. 



RHYMES OF FRIENDSHIP 



71 




'*He saw his genial cook and wife 
Get angry at a cat" 



72 RHYMES OF FRIENDSHIP 



TO AN OLD SCHOOL-MATE 



T 



HIS life as ever has, I see, 
Its clear and cloudy weather, 

The same today as 'twas when we 
Were both in school together. 



II. 



I overlaugh myself at times. 

Else would the flesh grow weary, 

But soberness, it makes my rhymes 
Disconsolate and dreary. 



III. 



If Master Fate, Tve sometimes thought. 

Could earn a man a living, 
rd be more righteous, ay and not 

Be cruel and unforgiving. 



RHYMES OF FRIENDSHIP 73 



IV. 



More seldom would I lay this head 

Upon a restless pillow, 
With spirit tossed uncomforted 

On sorrow's heaving billow. 



But yet methinks there is a balm 
To heal my sorest anguish, 

And I am for a moment calm, — 
A moment cease to languish: — • 



VI. 



This life as ever has, I see. 
Its clear and cloudy weather, 

The same today as 'twas when we 
Were both in school together. 



74 RHYMES OF FRIENDSHIP 



J 



UNCLE'S OLD SAYIN' 
I. 

EST keep yer wits about ye/' 

My uncle ust ter say, 
On Sunday afternoon when Fs 

About ter drive away ; 
''Yer startin' out, yer young and green, 

Jest like some gal to rout ye, 
Keep level-headed, be serene. 

An' hev yer wits about ye/' 

II. 

"Ah ! it's been your experience," 

I'd alius answer him, 
*'You ust ter go a-courtin' 

An' yer chances then wuz slim;" 
My uncle's face would turn to red. 

His cheeks an' lips grow pouchy, 
''Take my advice, sir, keep yer head 

An' hev yer wits about ye !" 



RHYMES OF FRIENDSHIP lb 



III. 



Ever since I wuz a kid, 

'Cept mebbe once er twice, 
rd liked my uncle 'speshully 

An' follered his advice. 
An' now I looked him in the eyes, 

My uncle old an' slouchy, 
That blamed expression there would rise,- 

''Jest keep yer wits about ye." 



IV. 



An' I have set an' wondered, — 

"What kin my uncle know? 
'Tis forty years an' over 

Since uncle wuz a beau ;" 
But by-um-by I come to think 

My uncle not so slouchy. 
An' in my mind his words 'ud sink 

''Jest keep yer wits about ye." 



76 RHYMES OF FRIENDSHIP 



V. 



I lived an' learnt considerable 

With many ups an' downs, 
I got severe reproaches, 

I met with lots o' frowns; 
I learnt that when yer scooped aside 

The game goes on without ye, — 
An' that a feller's safest guide 

Is, "Keep yer wits about ye." 



VI. 



"Jest keep yer wits about ye," 

My uncle ust ter say, — 
An' this advice he gave me then 

Will do fer chaps today; — 
"Jest count yerself," says-ee, "as one. 

An' ever'thing without ye 
Regard as number two, an' son, 

Jest keep yer wits about ye." 



RHYMES OF FRIENDSHIP 



77 




" 'Jest keep yer wits about ye,' 
My uncle ust ter say, 

On Sunday afternoon when I's 
About ter drive away" 



78 RHYMES OF FRIENDSHIP 



TO HERO ICHENOMEYA 

(A Japanese friend in college.) 
I. 

I'VE knowed you for a year er two, an' I can truly 
say 
That since we've been acquainted there has never come 

a day 
When pubHcly or privately, as I can recollect, 
You treated me with malice or any disrespect. 

II. 

Hero Ichenomeya, you've come here from Japan, 
Americans who know you say you're ever' inch a man. 
And in this yere opinion I honestly agree. 
As judgin' from your conduct as it appears to me. 

III. 

I've mixed with ordeenary folks an' folks of culture, 

too, 
I have some idles o' my own, I got my pint o' view ; 
I'm purty apt at judgin' an' since I've been with you 
Your natural charact'ristics, I've read 'em through 

an' through. 



RHYMES OF FRIENDSHIP 79 



IV. 
Today I can approach you with a cheerful smile an' 

take 
Your hand in mine an' squeeze it hard for honest 

friendship's sake ; 
You never seemed so stuck-up as a feller's ap' to be 
Who has attained the dignity of senior, seems to me. 

V. 

So you re a senior! you about to carry your A. B. 

Out here in Indiana, and besides a Japanee ! 

You must o' worked hard with your hands an' put 
in lots o' licks 

Since you've been here in college, — how old are you? — 
"Twentv-six !" 

VI. 

The boys in college like you, both the wealthy an' 
the pore, 

Your friends are staunch an' earnest, an' they num- 
ber many a score ; 

And when your class-mates honored you, outsiders 
realized 

That you deserved the dignity and wasn't much sup- 
prised. 



80 RHYMES OF FRIENDSHIP 



VII. 
I highly prize your friendship an' 'speshully regret 
To part with your society, but never shall forget 
Our happy days together and of friends so good and 

true, 
So kind and sympathizin', Fm indebted most to you ! 

VIII. 

Well, Hero, when I come to think about you, Fll be 
blamed ! 

There never was a feller, who was any better named ; 

As one who loves his feller-man and loves his coun- 
try too, 

I never met a patriot more genuine than you. 

IX. 

And so, old friend, jest be yourself, concludin' I would 
say, 

Yourself throughout the sun and shade of life's un- 
certain day; 

Along the devious path and dark, O may we journey 
twain. 

Our hearts still linked together by true friendship's 
golden chain ! 



RHYMES OF FRIENDSHIP 81 



A HAPPY MEETING 



o 



READER dear, if you were here 

A story I might tell, 
How as I passed through Richmond last 

A curious thing befell 
Me as I gazed at one, amazed. 

Who paused to gaze on me, 
I wondered who, — and he did too, — 

The other chap might be. 

11. 

We gazed awhile, then with a smile 

Each recognized the other, 
Now more esteemed because each seemed 

Familiar as a brother; 
I saw the green, — of course I mean 

I saw fun's laughing glitter, — 
Well, anyway, if green, I say 

'Twas green without green's bitter. 



6 



82 RHYMES OF FRIENDSHIP 



III. 



O there are hours when nameless flowers 

Breathe odors sweet in air, 
When joy expands to burst the bands 

Of melancholy care ! 
The striving crowd may revel loud 

In pleasure deemed complete, 
But nothing can be merrier than 

When two "fools'' chance to meet! 




RHYMES OF FRIENDSHIP 



83 




''Each recognized the other" 



84 RHYMES OF FRIENDSHIP 



T 



PA'S FOURTH 
I. 

HE folks once tried to celebrate 

The Fourth day of July, 
So Ma she sent me out to ketch 

A chicken fer to fry; 
Ketched a nice young pullet, 

Tuk it in to her, 
Ma says, — ''You stupid youngin', 

What did you ketch this fer? 
We can't spare our pullets, 

Go, turn that one loose, — 
Mind yer mammy quickly, 

Offer no excuse, — 
When we have fried chicken. 

Mind ye, ever' time. 
We ketch roosters fer they don't 

Fetch us but a dime." 



RHYMES OF FRIENDSHIP 85 



11. 
Well, I turned the pullet 

Loose, and once agin 
With a grea' big rooster 

I came walkin' in; 
This time Ma wuz worried 

'Cause she'd gone an' got 
Everything plum ready 

An' the water hot. 
She don't trust me any more 

But she say to Sis: 
''Turn the cakes, fer mercy' sakes ! 

While I 'tend to this." 

III. 
Then she tuk an ear o' corn, 

Shelled it off an' fed 
Some thirty er forty chickens 

That roosted in the shed, 
Ketched a fine young rooster, 

Sentenced him to die. 
An' 'fore many minutes 

He wuz on to fry; 



86 RHYMES OF FRIENDSHIP 



In about an hour 

Table it wuz set, 
An' I had my appitite 

Purty keenly whet. 

IV. 

Pa an' Ma an' Sis an' me 

Each one tuk our place 
At the table, an' Pa, he — 

He don't say no grace ; 
"But," says-ee, ''you youngsters 

Set back in yer chairs, — 
Haint ye got no manners? 

Hain't ye been nowheres? 
Have a little gumption 

An' patience jest to wait 
Till yer pap has time to put 

Some chicken on yer plate !" 



RHYMES OF FRIENDSHIP 87 



'Tap," says I, ''they's others 

'Sides us like as not," — 
But right then that pa o' mine 

Dropped the coffee-pot, — 
He jest tuk the gravy dish, 

Fished me out the neck, 
^'That's your share," he says, says-ee, 

''But not another speck;" 
He give Ma the drumsticks, 

Sis the pully-bone, 
An' he et up all the rest 

By hisself alone! 



«§& 



88 



RHYMES OF FRIENDSHIP 




"An' he et up all the rest 
By hisself alone." 



RHYMES OF FRIENDSHIP 89 



THE HONEST PRIDE OF A COUNTRY LAD 

I. 

T DONT tell no man, — no sir, not my brother, 
^ What my bizness is : — Fd ruther 

Git clean scrapped up once er twice, 

Yes, i jacks, than tell these nice 

Dudes with gum in mouth a-chewin' 

Everything on airth Fm doin' ! — 

When these quizzin 'saps come nigh, 

''None yer bizness,'' I says I. 

II. 

What's the difference anyway? 

I kin work er I kin play; 

When I've worked an' when I've played 

I kin waller in the shade ; 

I kin take my old terbacker, 

Whet my blame' barlow an' whack 'er 

An' kin chew; — I pay my tax, — 

Nobody's bizness, now, — i — jacks ! 



90 RHYMES OF FRIENDSHIP 



III. 



Oncet ez I wuz loaferin' 'round 
One blame' Saturday in town, 
Some big town guy straddled me,- 
'*What ye doin' here?" says-ee, 
''Git back to the country where 
Ye belong, — how come ye here?"- 
I jest poked 'im in the eye, 
''None yer bizness !" I says I. 



IV. 



Seed a couple, I believe, 
Drivin' 'long one Sunday eve ; 
Knowed they's somepin' goin' to be 
'Cause I heerd the gal tee-hee; 
Nen she tried to speel off smart: 
"Where's yer old farm hoss an' cart?" 
An' as they drove whizzin' by, — 
"None yer bizness," I says I. 



RHYMES OF FRIENDSHIP 91 



V. 



Tother day at Jones's sale 

Abe walks up an' says, ''Ye's pale, 

Mebby ploddin' down life's hill, 

Hadn't ye better make ye will? 

How's ye liver gittin' 'long? 

Is ye appitite still strong? 

When ye ever goin' to die?" — 

'' ! None yer bizness!" I says L 




92 



RHYMES OF FRIENDSHIP 




I jest poked 'im in the eye" 



RHYMES OF FRIENDSHIP 93 



"JIM" AND "JAKE" 

(The "Jim'' of the following poem was suggested to the 
writer by a real character with whom he became acquainted 
in college. While part of the story is true to fact, much has 
been invented to serve certain purposes of the writer. But 
there are "Jims" today, and in every community are also to 
be found those good-looking, good-natured, and slow-going 
fellows popularly known as " country- jakes.") 

I. 

JIM and Jake wuz babies, twin brothers, don't 
you know, 
Jake et an' slep' an' grew, but little Jim jest wouldn't 

grow; 
His ma tried soothin' syrup an' other medicine, 
Yet Jim seemed sot on stayin' a leetle crumped-up 
twin. 

II. 

Now Jake wuz made lots over an' patted on the cheek, 

Wuz tuk to see his gramma three an' four times a 
week, 

'Cause gramma alius humored him an' jest deeclared 
that he 

Wuz the sweetest, smartest baby in the whole com- 
munity. 



94 RHYMES OF FRIENDSHIP 



III. 
Pore little Jim wuz puny an' alius seemed so frail 
That his ma lost all hopes early an' looked fer his 

health to fail, 
An' when Jim talked an' Jake didn't when each wuz 

eight months old, — 
"Pore little Jake," their ma complained, ''has got a 
awful cold!" 

IV. 

Well, Jake did have a habit o' kickin' kivvers off. 
An' keepin' all the house awake by his outrageous 

cough, — 
Yet all the womern-folks agreed an' kinder sided in 
That though Jim wuz a purty boy, Jake wuz as sweet 

agin. 

V. 
The first excitement over, when some few years'd 

gone by. 
They noticed Jim could name the states, could add an' 

multiply. 
While Jake had tuk delight in toys, an' wuzn't nigh 

so quick 
At namin' states in joggify an' workin' 'rithmetic. 



RHYMES OF FRIENDSHIP 



95 




"Jake had tuk delight in toys" 



96 RHYMES OF FRIENDSHIP 



VI. 
Both entered school, — an' O their ma did take on 

mighty hard 
When they brought to her fer signing each his Httle 

report card! 
Fer all her female follies, folks wuz sorry most fer 

her, 
As she turned from Jake to murmur, ''What's this 

ejication fer?" 

VII. 

Now neighbors an' relations had begun to size up Jim 
An' wonder what perfession wuz to open up fer him ; 
Yet sorter sympathizin', sometimes fer his mother's 

sake, 
They'd guess on many a lucky move the game had 

yet fer Jake. 

VIII. 

Jim went away to college, an' gained distinction there, 
Jake tuk no chances, hired out, fer books he didn't 

keer ; — 
So when Jim rose commencement day to honor his 

degree. 
His ma, with friends an' strangers, saw the man who 

wuz to be. 



RHYMES OF FRIENDSHIP 97 



IX. 

O how supprised his class-mates wuz, they shrank as 

in alarm 
When it was told that this same man had bought his- 

self a farm, 
Had hired his brother Jacob to feed an' milk an' slop 
While he hisself looked after the raisin' o' the crop! 

X. 

In spite o' gale an' gossip, honest Jim wuz widely 
known 

To be the people's champion to the morry o' the 
bone ; 

An' when before the public they summoned him to 
speak, 

He flung his point-blank periods to defend the suffer- 
ing weak. 

XI. 

At len'th a party caucus in the old home county met 

To feel the pulse fer gov'nor, but 'twuzn't clear jest 
yet 

What ch'ice they'd make; some feller rose an' nomin- 
ated Jim, 

But the factions split contrary an' didn't vote fer him. 



98 RHYMES OF FRIENDSHIP 



XII. 

Now when the State convention hung, they looked fer 
a ''dark horse/' 

An' Jim wuz nominated fer to run the final course ; 

An' when returns wuz published there arose the shout, 
''Long live 

Our country, an' our own dear state, an' her execu- 
tive !" 

XIII. 

Ah ! where is Jim's poor mother, an' where is brother 
Jake? 

Two forms come toiling forward, one bent with many 
an ache, 

Bent low with many a secret care her sturdy son be- 
side, 

As weepingly she murmurs, "Jim, my boy, my darling 
pride !" 

XIV. 

The throng is hushed an' tearful as he tenders one 

caress 
With a pause of dear affection which but silence can 

express ; 



RHYMES OF FRIENDSHIP 99 



''Brother Jake, behold our mother, go, keep up the 

Httle farm, 

May Heaven's smile be o'er you to protect you from 

all harm/' 

^ jji ^ ^ :{? ^ 

XV. 

Jim an' Jake wuz babies, twin brothers, don't ye know, 
Jake et an' slept an' grew but little Jim jest wouldn't 

grow; 
His ma tried soothin' syrup an' other medicine, 
Yet Jim seemed sot on stayin' a leetle crumped-up 

tw^in. 



LOfC 




K<3 K<3 



SEP 4 1907 





'^m 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



015 898 936 




